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Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972) was a Russian-American, born in Kiev (Russian Empire then, today Ukraine). At age 19, he was set to become a regular engineer, but when he heard about the Wright Brothers first mobilized flight, he became obsessed with building airplanes. Only 3 years later, aged 22, he became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works and …

Hailed as “the first movie star,” Florence Lawrence shot to fame quickly after a publicity stunt involving a streetcar accident. Appropriately, in 1914 the actress also invented the turn signal as an “auto signalling arm” that she never bothered to patent.

Born in England in 1770, Sarah Guppy was a mother of six children and an inventor. Among her inventions are caulking that made ships more seaworthy, a kitchen fire hood, a bed that transformed into a home gym, and a design for piling foundation that led to the creation of the suspension bridge.